(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape measure, and particularly to a tape measure with an improved tape braking mechanism.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Taiwan Patent issue No. 517839 discloses a tape measure which comprises an enclosure, a wheel, an operating member and a stopping plate. The enclosure comprises an upper unit and a lower unit each defining a notch, a guiding hole and a sliding slot. A tape winds around the wheel received in the enclosure. The operating member forms a releasing portion and a locking portion. The end of the locking portion forms an extension arm defining a locking slot. The stopping plate comprises a pair of pivots formed at opposite sides of the top end thereof. An elastic tab is formed at the stopping plate opposing the pivots. A protrusion is formed at an end of the tab.
In assembly, the operating member is movably attached to the enclosure. The locking portion and the releasing portion of the operating member are exposed at the notches of the enclosure. The stopping plate is received in the sliding slots of the enclosure and the elastic tab of the stopping plate abuts against one portion of the enclosure at the top side of the sliding slots. The pivots of the stopping plate are pivotably received in the holes of the enclosure to cause the top end of the stopping plate to be received in the locking slot of the operating member and the bottom end of the stopping plate to be adjacent to the tape. The tape can be pulled outside the enclosure or withdrawn in the enclosure via a user operating the operating member to drive the stopping plate to release the tape, and can be locked via the user operating the operating member to drive the stopping plate to lock the tape.
However, when the tape is locked or pulled outside the enclosure, the operating member drives the stopping plate to lock or release the tape. Friction is inevitably produced between the stopping plate and the tape, which results in abrasion of the tape and mistiness of the measurement indicia of the tape. Furthermore, the stopping plate is generally made of metal material and is prone to be abraded when used for a long time, which results in the stopping plate being incapable of locking the tape. Thus, an improved tape measure which overcomes the above problems is desired.